For three months, British General James Wolfe lay siege to Quebec City. It was on this day in 1759 that the French Marquis de Montcalm finally led his troops from their walled fortress into combat on the Plains of Abraham. (Though that sounds biblical, the battleground was a field, owned and farmed by Martin Abraham.) The Battle was over in about 45 minutes. In that time, General Wolfe was killed, Montcalm was mortally wounded, and the French had lost the war. Meaning, the British claimed the land as their own. And this is why the motto of Quebec is Je me souvien: I remember.
A color painting of the Battle of Quebec, September 13, 1759 Image source: British Battles
On this day in 1759 in Quebec City, combat between French and British forces decided which would claim the land north of the St. Lawrence River – despite the hundreds of thousands of indigenous people who lived in the region for thousands of years.
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